


Catalyst

by lionofwrath



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: AU, Fluff, M/M, STARS-era, werecat!Wesker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-19 10:07:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18134357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionofwrath/pseuds/lionofwrath
Summary: After he's injured during a mission, Chris finds himself being protected by an unusual guardian.





	Catalyst

**Author's Note:**

> A while ago I saw someone compare Wesker to a cat, so I wrote this.

The gang member hit Chris again, hard enough to snap his head to the side, his ears ringing. He braced himself for another round of beatings and then distantly he thought he heard gunfire. It must not have been only in his mind because the other two men ran off at an order from their boss. He punched Chris in the stomach, doubling him over and he started coughing. Past his own hoarse breaths there was another sound, growing louder, an engine of some kind, Chris thought. Hopefully that and the gunfire meant rescue. The man screamed suddenly, the noise right next to Chris. He looked up, blood running into his eyes, his head swimming, and stared into red, slit-pupiled eyes. Some primitive instinct made him freeze at the sight, trying to understand what he was seeing even as fear gripped him. A clatter made the thing glance away, and Chris finally saw more of it, it was a cat, a massive white beast like nothing he had ever seen. It loped off as quickly as it had arrived, revealing the body of the man lying on the floor behind it. And then Wesker was suddenly there, murmuring to him soothingly as he released Chris from the restraints and Chris passed out.

When he woke up in the hospital he didn’t mention the cat. It seemed crazy, probably a hallucination from blood-loss and dehydration, and he didn’t want to diminish the hard work his team had put into searching for him. Besides, he liked that Wesker had been the one to rescue him, his feelings for the man weren’t strictly professional, even if he didn’t think Wesker felt the same. He only stayed in the hospital for a few days before he was allowed to return home. It would be much longer until he was cleared for duty but at least his friends promised to visit him and tell him the office gossip.

Chris stared out his window into the darkness, unable to shake the feeling of being watched. He’d enjoyed the idea of having the park near where he lived when he’d bought the place but now the woods felt strange and eerie in the cloudy moonlight. Something white slipped through a shadow and he peered at the spot anxiously. It appeared again, creeping out of the underbrush to reveal a pale feline shape. He gasped as it raised its head, red eyes staring directly at him as if aware that he was watching it. Chris didn’t generally believe in the supernatural but the white cat standing outside his backyard was making him reconsider. There was no way it was a normal animal, he was sure of that even though his knowledge of big cats was limited to a few trips to the zoo when he was a kid. Maybe it was the possibility of the supernatural, or the pain medication dulling his survival instincts, or maybe it was simply that he felt like he must be dreaming, but he opened the back door and went outside to confront the cat.

‘Hey.’ He tried, tensing as it prowled back and forth, red eyes fixed on him. Shit, this had been a bad idea, it had probably escaped from the zoo or something and here he was asking to be attacked. But it hadn’t attacked him before, it had saved him. His head hurt and he was just getting more confused.

The cat came closer, narrowing its eyes at him as if glaring and then it was butting its head against him to push him back inside. It was much stronger than him, almost causing him to fall in its insistence.

‘Ok, I’m going.’ Chris protested, feeling inane talking to it like it was a person, but it was acting so oddly.

The cat seemed to roll its eyes at him and shook its head as if in exasperation.

It was such a familiar gesture that Chris laughed. ‘You remind me of my captain, he’d be pissed that I’m out of bed too.’

The cat growled faintly and nudged him again.

‘I’m going.’ Chris conceded and went back inside. He didn’t go to bed immediately though, instead he watched the cat circle his house as if attempting to keep him inside. Or keep him safe. The thought was reassuring as he went to bed.

In the morning the entire thing seemed unreal, it must have been a dream. Just to make sure Chris checked around the outside of his house, but there was no evidence that any kind of cat had been there recently. Maybe supernatural cats didn’t leave footprints though. Or imagined ones, he chided himself. That was far more likely than that he’d somehow acquired a supernatural guardian. Despite telling himself that he spent the rest of the day in a sort of bored anticipation, wondering if it would come back that night. Jill called him later to see how he was doing and it distracted him for a bit until nightfall.

Holding his breath, Chris looked out the window, watching for a while. Nothing showed up and he was almost ready to dismiss the whole thing as a delusion when the white cat casually padded up to his back door. He went downstairs to open the door, staring at it for a long moment. ‘Hey.’

It made a noise more like a friendly purr than a warning growl.

‘Do you want to come in?’ He was treating it like it was a human again but whatever it was it had to be intelligent. It hesitated then shook its head deliberately, turning away to patrol the yard. Chris was disappointed even though he couldn't explain why, he probably shouldn’t be inviting large, dangerous predators into his home anyway.

His friends made sure to come visit him but strangely it was the nightly visits from the cat that Chris looked forwards to the most. He hadn’t made a firm decision on whether or not it was real or what was happening, but he could admit that he liked it, knowing that someone was determined to protect him.

It was snowing. Chris tried to make out the shape of his cat in the overwhelming white, finally catching a glimpse of red eyes as it looked up. He still wasn’t sure what exactly it was, or what kind of cat, but it didn’t seem to like the snow much, its head lowered and body curled up as if miserable.

‘Hey, I’m going to bed, don’t worry.’ Chris held up his hands as the cat glared through the falling snow. ‘Just, do you want to come in? It’s cold out, and I guess you have fur, but…’

The cat glanced down at the snow then back up, finally nodding and padding through his open door.

‘Stay there, I’ll get you a towel.’ Chris hastily ordered before his floor got wet. It obeyed, waiting on the rug for him to return. He didn’t think it was going to like being dried off, but as he rubbed the towel over it the cat started to purr, a low rumble that he could feel vibrating through its body. When its head was dry it started nuzzling his shoulder, almost knocking him over. ‘Hey, easy there.’ Its fur wasn’t actually white as he’d first thought, it was a very pale blond and so thick and smooth that Chris got distracted running his hands through it until the cat shoved him away in annoyance. He couldn’t keep thinking of it as an it, especially not when it was in his house. ‘Just out of curiosity, are you a, uh, guy cat?’

It, he, nodded, seemingly amused at the question.

‘Ok, thanks.’ The cat followed him around like a shadow as he got ready for bed. Having him nearby made Chris feel more secure instead of worried and he slept soundly.

The cat was gone the next morning. He wasn’t surprised given it had vanished on him before, but it made him feel even more lonely.

The snowstorm grew steadily worse, the news reports indicating shutdowns of some services, and power outages, and for once Chris was glad to be off-duty.

The cat returned to keep an eye on him the next night. It was both expected and surreal but it was nice to have someone looking out for him, even if it was a mysterious cat.

When he woke up it was pitch black, and very cold. Groggily, Chris registered that the power had gone out, even the street lights were dark. He shivered, huddling under the covers more.

A head poked up from the floor, faintly-glowing red eyes regarding him steadily.

‘Are you cold?’ Chris asked sleepily, and before he could think better of it he’d flipped the covers back. ‘C’mere.’

The cat stared at him in what seemed to be surprise but he carefully climbed up onto the bed. He settled next to Chris, curling up around him. It was probably another entry on the list of bad ideas, but it was hard to complain about the few hundred pounds of warm cat cuddled up beside him. Chris buried his face gratefully in soft fur, the cat’s body vibrating as he purred.

This time the cat was still there when he woke up. Seeing the blond fur shining in the sunlight, knowing without a doubt that he was awake was the final convincing he needed that the cat was real. Somehow this was all real. ‘Morning.’ He muttered awkwardly as he realised that they’d spent the night in the same bed.

Red eyes gave him an amused stare.

‘Are you staying?’ Chris stroked one of the cat’s ears.

The cat nodded, making a pleased sounding purr. The power seemed to still be out, snow falling heavily and Chris figured that must be why the cat hadn’t left yet. ‘In that case, I guess let’s go see what I’ve got for breakfast.’

Chris pulled some clothes on quickly, shivering in the cold air and then noticed the cat was watching him. He turned to him and the red eyes widened in alarm, looking away as if embarrassed about being caught while voyeuristically watching Chris change. It was sort of weird since he was a cat, but Chris had been the one to undress without considering his guest so he tried to shrug it off.

He gave the cat some meat from the fridge, making himself an equally cold breakfast. The cat looked a bit affronted at the meal but he ate it anyway.

Afterwards, Chris grabbed his guitar before dropping onto the couch, glancing at the cat as he curled up beside him. ‘You like music?’

The cat blinked at him inscrutably.

‘Well, I hope so.’ Chris played for a while, noticing the cat’s ears twitching forwards in interest, his tail flicking side to side in time with the music. As he played the last chord with a flourish the cat purred and butted his leg. Chris took it as applause. ‘Thanks, you’re a great audience.’ He grinned and rubbed the cat’s forehead, scratching behind his ears to the loud rumbling purr of approval. His red eyes closed as he pushed his head further into Chris’ hand and Chris felt oddly content.

Jill called him later to check on him and to complain about dealing with the power outage. Chris listened sympathetically but he was glad to be on leave for once. ‘How’s everyone else doing?’

‘They’re good. Well, I don’t know about Wesker, he took a few days off just before this.’

Chris frowned, that wasn’t like Wesker at all. ‘Is he ok?’

Jill hesitated. ‘I don’t know, he’s not answering his phone, but he is technically on vacation.’

It worried him, but there wasn’t much he could do about it between his injuries and the blizzard. ‘Stay safe, Jill.’

Chris spent the next day with the cat too, napping on the couch or playing his guitar, since there wasn’t much to do while he was injured and the power was out. It was strangely easy to relax with the cat in a way he’d never felt with a human, and he was enjoying the company.

The cat vanished the morning the power came back on. Chris was disappointed but not surprised, the cat seemed to have decided he was his protector but he had only been staying with Chris out of necessity. He still missed his cat though.

Chris opened the door without thinking, assuming one of his friends had dropped by and blinked in surprise at the man ringing his doorbell. ‘Wesker?’

‘Chris.’ Wesker replied blandly.

There was a long pause while Chris stared dumbfounded at him.

‘Are you going to let me in?’

‘Uh, yeah.’ Chris opened the door wider, realising Wesker was carrying several bags. ‘What’re you doing here?’

‘Checking up on you. And I thought you might need some food after that storm.’ Wesker didn’t stop, heading straight for Chris’ kitchen.

‘Thanks?’ Utterly confused, Chris trailed after him, watching him unpack the groceries he’d brought. Of all the people he’d expected to visit him Wesker was at the bottom of the list. He was a good captain, and friendly enough but it just wasn’t something Chris would’ve pictured him doing. But here he was, calmly putting things away in Chris’ fridge and cupboards like he did it everyday.

Chris frowned, Wesker had brought a lot of food, which Chris needed, but it wasn’t the three day storm that had cleaned him out it had been his feline visitor. And he definitely hadn’t told anyone about that. Now that he thought about it Wesker had known where his kitchen was too despite never having been in his house before. He stared at the back of the man’s head, the blond hair that was the exact same colour as his mysterious cat, and a suspicion started to form in his mind. Wesker did seem a bit feline, the way he moved was almost like stalking… No, Wesker had been the one who found him first, so it was simply two things getting mixed up in his mind. But maybe not. Chris argued with himself, that it was insane, that his captain wasn’t some kind of supernatural creature, except… Screw it. ‘It’s you, isn’t it?’

‘What?’ Wesker threw him an annoyed glance but didn’t stop unpacking the groceries.

‘You’re the cat.’

‘What are you talking about Chris?’ His tone was casual but his shoulders were suddenly tense and Chris knew he was right.

‘You’re a werewo-, uh, werecat?’

‘That’s ridiculous.’ Wesker shook his head, turning around to grimace at Chris.

Chris wasn’t going to give up, not when he was positive even though it should’ve been impossible. ‘Well, what do you call yourself then?’

Wesker crossed his arms and stared at Chris, his eyes inscrutable behind his sunglasses. ‘I don’t have a word for it. It’s just what I am.’

‘You’re a cat.’ Chris said just to confirm what he’d heard, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Wesker had just admitted it.

He scoffed. ‘No, I can turn into a cat when I want to.’

‘How? Why?’ Chris blurted the questions out, half-convinced that this was some sort of elaborate joke. ‘Were you born as one or-’

‘Stop it.’ Wesker snapped harshly, but the expression on his face wasn’t anger, it was fear.

‘Sorry.’ Chris quieted, but he wouldn’t forget that look, he wanted to know what scared Wesker that badly and keep it from hurting him again. ‘Thank you. For telling me, and for looking out for me.’

Wesker shrugged awkwardly as if brushing it off as no big deal.

Abruptly Chris remembered the past few days, cuddling up to the cat for warmth, no, cuddling up to _Wesker_ , the way the cat, _Wesker_ , had looked away when he’d changed in front of him… ‘Wait, you were in my bed. You saw me naked.’

Wesker’s cheeks went pink and he dropped his gaze. ‘You invited me in.’ He murmured defensively.

‘I thought you were some kind of supernatural cat, not-’ Chris gestured at him, fumbling for the most straightforward word. ‘-a man.’

‘You’re right. My behaviour was inappropriate. I apologise.’ Wesker was still flushed, but his voice was ice cold. ‘I’ll see you at the station when you return.’ He tried to push past Chris without touching him.

Chris blocked his way with an outstretched arm. He didn’t care about the werecat thing anymore because he’d just had a far more important revelation and there wasn’t a chance in hell that he was letting Wesker leave now. ‘I didn’t say it bothered me. That you’re a man. That you were in my bed.’

Wesker was so close to him that Chris could hear his breath hitch as Chris reached up and pulled his sunglasses off. Grey eyes searched his face in disbelief. ‘Chris? Are you-’

Chris cupped the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Wesker grabbed for him, practically melting into his arms, moaning desperately into his mouth. ‘Hey, easy, it’s ok.’ Chris reassured him, alarmed at how panicked he seemed. He stroked Wesker’s hair to calm him down, unconsciously following the same path he’d used on the cat, scratching behind his ear. A deep rumble came out of him that almost made Chris snatch his hand back in surprise. ‘Are you purring?’

Wesker snarled, his eyes flickering from grey to red. Well, that explained why he wore sunglasses all the time, but that was something to think about later.

Chris petted his hair again, making the noise resume. ‘God, you are purring.’

‘Don’t push it.’ Wesker warned him, rubbing his head into his hand anyway just like a cat.

Chris did push it once they were in bed and he had Wesker underneath him, and he was thrilled to discover that his hair wasn’t the only thing Chris could stroke to make him purr.


End file.
